TraCEr - Laboratory for Traceology and Controlled Experiments
2020-07-03T00:00:00Z
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About
The Laboratory for Traceology and Controlled Experiments (TraCEr) runs under the research umbrella of the MONREPOS Archaeological Research Centre and Museum for Human Behavioural Evolution, namely, understanding the evolution of our behaviour during the early history of humanity. In Pleistocene Archaeology, interpreting artefact variability in the archaeological record has long been one of the most debated topics, mainly related to different types of raw materials and their possible use by past humans. In fact, to what uses humans put their tools and how these might have varied through time and space is one of the key areas of research for understanding the evolution of human behaviour. The very presence of diverse types of materials in artefacts assemblages shows that humans managed different resources and, therefore, technology was characterized by the production of different tools made from materials with different properties. Functional studies are of major importance in order to determine and understand artefact use, and thus to address fundamental questions about the evolution of human behaviour. The main scope of TraCEr is to carry ground-breaking functional studies that combine 1) methodological development and 2) fundamental research on Pleistocene and Early Holocene archaeology.
Methodological development in functional studies
By developing innovative and controlled experimental protocols, as well as high-resolution 3D imaging techniques, methods will be improved in order to assess the formation criteria of use-wear traces on different types of materials found in the archaeological record (this involves organic, such as hard animal materials, but also non-organic, such as stone tools). Methodological apparatus (i.e. mechanical devices) will be used to improve experimental validation, establish protocols and define standards, contributing to establishing standards in the experimental protocols and in the data acquisition, documentation and quantification on use-wear studies.
Building on current use-wear methods and techniques, our research will follow three avenues:
Controlled experiments will be designed to improve the identification, measurement, and analysis of all major variables involved. Factors affecting use-wear formation will be identified and tested individually to understand which of these variables influence the formation of the different types of use-wear traces.
One often neglected factor is the range of raw materials properties (e.g. hardness, roughness); the lab will also assess the properties of the tested materials, and their influence on the results.
High-resolution 3D imaging methods will be applied to document, quantify and interpret use-wear traces on both experimental and archaeological samples. 3D digital data will be quantified to both minimize potential sources of error/bias and to generate data that can be statistically tested. Digital data will be made available in an open access library to other researchers.
